Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed Kylian Mbappe needs to follow in his footsteps at Real Madrid and learn how to be a striker. Mbappe joined the La Liga giants in the summer signing a mammoth contract after seeing his deal with Paris Saint-Germain expire. The French superstar has scored 21 goals in 33 appearances in a promising start to life at the Bernabeu amid concerns how he would fit into Carlo Ancelotti's team.

Mbappe's tendency to drift wide was seen as a risk of negatively impacting the form of Vinicius Junior, while Jude Bellingham was moved deeper to accommodate the 26-year-old. The former Monaco ace failed to score in his first three La Liga appearances but soon found his feet and netted five times in the following four matches. Ronaldo believes that Mbappe could benefit by going through the same journey he did when joining Real Madrid from Manchester United. The Al-Nassr star was transformed into an out-and-out forward during his time in the Spanish capital, racking up an emphatic 450 goals in 438 appearances.

"The forward position makes things a bit complicated for Mbappe, because he doesn't know how to play as a forward in my opinion... It's not that he doesn't know how, it's not his position," Ronaldo told La Sexta. "If I were at Real Madrid I would teach him to play as a nine. Because I wasn't a striker. I got used to playing as a striker. I used to play on the wing and people forget. Kylian shouldn't be a typical striker. If I were him, I would play more or less like Cristiano Ronaldo plays as a striker.".

The 39-year-old forward has called upon Real Madrid to protect Mbappe. The Portugal international believes that Los Merengues' top goalscorer will continue to bring joy to supporters. “Take care of him," he said. "Take care of him. I'm telling the Real Madrid fans... Take care of the kid. Mbappe is very good and Real Madrid has to help him and protect him. I have no doubt that Mbappe will bring a lot of joy to Real Madrid fans.".

Ronaldo added: "I love him a lot, and not just because of the story he had when he was young, where he loved Cristiano Ronaldo a lot and he was his idol. But I really see him as a great player and he is going to bring a lot of joy to Real Madrid.". Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.